Controlled-access highway
Encyclopedia
A controlled-access highway is a highway
designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated. They are known by various terms worldwide, including autobahn, autopista, autoroute, autostrada, autosnelweg, freeway, motorway, and sometimes less precise terms such as expressway, parkway
, or turnpike.
A controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections or property access
. They are free of any at-grade crossings
with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpass
es and underpasses across the highway. Entrance and exit to the highway are provided at interchanges
by slip roads (ramps), which allow for speed changes between the highway and arterial thoroughfares and collector roads. On the highway, opposing directions of travel are physically separated by a central reservation
(median), such as a strip of grass or boulders, or by a traffic barrier
.
Controlled-access highways, as they exist today, evolved during the first half of the twentieth century. The Long Island Motor Parkway
, opened in 1908 as a private venture, was the world's first limited-access roadway. It included many modern features, including banked turns, guard rail
s and reinforced concrete tarmac
. Germany began to build its famous Reichsautobahn controlled-access highway network (then referred to as a Dual Highway) following the First World War. It rapidly assembled a nationwide system of such roads in anticipation of their use in World War II
. Italy followed shortly thereafter, opening its first Autostrada in 1925. Ontario and Pennsylvania opened the first North American freeways in 1940. Britain, heavily influenced by the railway, did not build its first motorway until the mid-1950s.
Most technologically advanced nations feature an extensive network of freeways or motorways. Many have a national-level system of route numbering
. The highway has brought with it the ability to access almost any part of the world with comfort and speed, improved fuel efficiency, and improved economic and cultural access among communities.
, the demand for faster movement between cities and as a consequence of improvements in paving processes, techniques and materials. These original high-speed roads were referred to as "dual highways" and, while divided, bore little resemblance to the highways of today. The first dual highway in the world opened in 1921 between Milan
and Varese
and now forms parts of the A8 and A9 motorways. This highway, while divided, featured only one lane in each direction and no interchanges. Shortly thereafter, in 1924, the Bronx River Parkway
was opened to traffic. The Bronx River Parkway was the first road in North America to utilize a median strip to separate the opposing lanes, to be constructed through a park and where intersecting streets crossed over bridges.
Freeways, by definition, have no at-grade intersections
with other roads, railroads or multi-use trails. Movable bridges, such as the Interstate Bridge
on Interstate 5
between Oregon
and Washington, do require drivers to stop for ship
traffic.
The crossing of freeways by other routes is typically achieved with grade separation either in the form of underpasses or overpass
es. In addition to sidewalk
s (footpaths) attached to roads that cross a freeway, specialized pedestrian footbridge
s or tunnels
may also be provided. These structures enable pedestrian
s and cyclists to cross the freeway at that point without a detour to the nearest road crossing.
Access to freeways is typically provided only at grade-separated interchanges
, though lower-standard right-in/right-out
access can be used for direct connections to side roads. In many cases, sophisticated interchanges allow for smooth, uninterrupted transitions between intersecting freeways and busy arterial road
s. However, sometimes it is necessary to exit onto a surface road to transfer from one freeway to another. An example of this would be Interstate 70
in the town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania
.
Speed limit
s are generally higher on freeways and are occasionally nonexistent (as on much of Germany's Autobahn
network). Because higher speeds reduce decision time, freeways are usually equipped with a larger number of guide signs than other roads, and the signs themselves are physically larger. Guide signs are often mounted on overpasses or overhead gantries
so that drivers can see where each lane goes. Exit numbers are commonly derived from the exit's distance in miles or kilometers from the start of the freeway. In some areas, there are public rest area
s or service areas on freeways, as well as emergency phones on the shoulder at regular intervals.
In the United States, mileposts start at the southern or westernmost point on the freeway (either its terminus or the state line). California
, Ohio
, and Nevada
use milepost
systems in which the markers indicate mileage through the state's individual counties. However, in Nevada and Ohio, and freeways that pass through Kern County, California
, also use the standard milepost system concurrently with their respective postmile systems.
s, often undivided, are sometimes built when traffic volumes are low or right-of-way is limited; they may be designed for easy conversion to one side of a four-lane freeway. Otherwise, freeways typically have at least two lanes in each direction; some busy ones can have as many as 16 or more lanes in total.
In Mississauga, Ontario
, Highway 401 uses collector-express lanes
for a total of 18 lanes through its intersection with 403/410 and 427. In San Diego, California
, Interstate 5
has a similar system of express and local lanes for a maximum width of 21 lanes on a two-mile segment between Interstate 805
and California State Route 56
.
These wide freeways may use separate collector and express lanes to separate through traffic from local traffic, or special high-occupancy vehicle lane
s, either as a special restriction on the innermost lane or a separate roadway, to encourage carpool
ing. These HOV lanes, or roadways open to all traffic, can be reversible lane
s, providing more capacity in the direction of heavy traffic, and reversing direction before traffic switches. Sometimes a collector/distributor road, a shorter version of a local lane, shifts weaving between closely spaced interchanges to a separate roadway or altogether eliminates it.
In some parts of the world, notably parts of the U.S., frontage road
s form an integral part of the freeway system. These parallel surface roads provide a transition between high-speed "through" traffic and local traffic. Frequent slip-ramps provide access between the freeway and the frontage road, which in turn provides direct access to local roads and businesses.
Except on some two-lane freeway
s (and very rarely on wider freeways), a median separates the opposite directions of traffic. This strip may be as simple as a grassy area, or may include a crash barrier such as a "Jersey barrier
" or an "Ontario Tall Wall" to prevent head-on collision
s. On some freeways, the two carriageways are built on different alignments; this may be done to make use of available corridors in a mountainous area or to provide narrower corridors through dense urban area
s.
Some roads in Ohio
that conform to freeway criteria use at-grade intersections in lieu of over/under-passes, with occasional interchanges to avoid signalized traffic interruption (i.e., traffic lights are omitted). Examples include US 23 between OH-15's eastern terminus and Delaware, Ohio
, along with Highway 15 between its eastern terminus and I-75, US-30, OH-29/US-33, and US-35 in western and central Ohio. These highways are fundamentally expressways, but expressways tend to have lower design speeds, and signalized at-grade intersections.
Control of access is a legal status which prohibits the types of vehicles which use a highway and the points at which they can access it.
Freeways are usually limited to motor vehicles of a minimum power or weight; signs may prohibit bicyclists, pedestrian
s and equestrian
s and impose a minimum speed. It is possible for non-motorized traffic to use facilities within the same right-of-way, such as sidewalk
s constructed along freeway-standard bridge
s and multi-use paths next to freeways such as the Suncoast Trail along the Suncoast Parkway in Florida
.
In some US jurisdictions, especially where freeways replace existing roads, non-motorized access on freeways is permitted. Different states of the United States have different laws. Cycling on freeways in Arizona
may be prohibited only where there is an alternative route judged equal or better for cycling. Wyoming, the least populated state, allows cycling on all freeways. Oregon
allows bicycles except on specific urban freeways in Portland
and Medford
.
In countries such as the United Kingdom
and Germany
, the difference between a normal road and a freeway-class road (motorway/autobahn) is the restriction of low-speed traffic. Many roads are built to freeway standards but are not legally a freeway-class road for this reason. Indeed, some freeway-class roads are downgraded for short stretches where no alternative exists, to allow low-speed traffic; examples in the UK include the Dartford Crossing
(the furthest downstream public crossing of the Thames), and the former Cumberland Gap
, as well as sections of the A1 not yet designated A1(M), various lengths of the A5, and the entirety of other important and near-motorway-standard links such as the A14, A34, A38, A42, A50, A55... long stretches of which carry 70 mph (112.7 km/h) speed limits. The reasons for such designation vary – physical lack of space (A55), restricted budget (e.g. A42 – a full-standard motorway would have been more expensive than an A-road; a motorway with additional service roads further still), to permit local access in remote areas or because of legislative or political wrangling (easier to have A-road construction or upgrade authorised and accepted than a more emotionally charged "motorway scheme", and does not require issuing of Special Road orders). Continental European non-motorway dual carriageways can have limits as high as 110 –. U.S. Route 23 in Ohio
has a speed limit as high as 65 mph (104.6 km/h) but isn't legally a freeway-class road since it has no disclaimers saying that low-speed vehicles are prohibited; it also has at-grade intersections like expressway-class roadways.
Research shows 85 percent of motor vehicle-bicycle crashes follow turning or crossing at intersections. Freeway travel eliminates almost all those conflicts save at entrance and exit ramps – which, at least on those freeways where cycling has not been banned, have sufficient room and sight for cyclists and motorists. An analysis of crashes in Arizona showed no safety problems with cycling on freeways. Fewer than one motor vehicle-bicycle crash a year was recorded on nearly 2000 shoulder-miles open to cyclists in Arizona.
Full freeways are sometimes made by converting at-grade expressways or by replacing at-grade intersections with overpasses; however, any at-grade intersection that ends a freeway remains. Often, when there is a two-lane undivided freeway or expressway, it is converted by constructing a twin corridor on the side by leaving a median between the two travel directions. The opposing side for the old two-way corridor becomes a passing lane.
Other techniques involve building a new carriageway on the side of a divided highway that has a lot of private access on one side and sometimes has long driveways on the other side since an easement for widening comes into place, especially in rural areas.
When a "third" carriageway is added, sometimes it can shift a directional carriageway by 50–200 ft (or maybe more depending on land availability) as a way to retain privrate access on one side that favors over the other. Other instances involve constructing a service drive that shortens the long driveways typically by less than 100 m.
an development found near most modern cities. They ideally serve to reduce travel times and accident rates, though the higher speeds have increased the severity and death rates of the collision
s that do occur.
Highways have been heavily criticized by environmentalists, urbanists, and preservationists for the noise,
pollution, and economic shifts they bring.
Additionally, they have been criticized by the driving public for the inefficiency with which they handle peak hour traffic.
Often, rural highways open up vast areas to economic development and municipal services, generally raising property values. In contrast to this, above-grade highways in urban areas are often a source of lowered property values, contributing to urban decay
. Even with overpasses and underpasses, neighbourhoods are divided — especially impoverished ones where residents are less likely to own a car, or to have the political and economic influence to resist construction efforts. Beginning in the early 1970s, the U.S. Congress identified freeways and other urban highways as responsible for most of the noise exposure of the U.S. population. Subsequently, computer models were developed to analyze freeway noise and aid in their design to help minimize noise exposure.
Some cities have implemented freeway removal
policies in which freeways have even been demolished and reclaimed as boulevard
s or parks, notably in Portland (Harbor Drive), New York City
(West Side Highway
), Boston
(Central Artery
), San Francisco (Embarcadero Freeway) and Milwaukee (Park East Freeway).
An alternative to surface or above ground freeway construction has been the construction of underground urban freeways using tunnelling technologies. This has been extremely successful in the Australian cities of Sydney
(which has five such freeways) and Melbourne
(which has two such freeways). This has had the benefit of removing traffic from surface roads and in the case of Melbourne's Eastlink Motorway, has helped preserve an ecologically sensitive area from destruction.
Other Australian cities face similar problems (lack of available land, cost of home acquisition, aesthetic problems, and community opposition). Brisbane, which also has to contend with physical boundaries (the river) and heavy population increases, has embraced underground tunnel freeways. There are currently three under active development, one of which (the North-South Bypass Tunnel
) is currently under construction. All of the planned tunnels include provisions for public transport, whether underground or in reclaimed space on the surface.
Freeway opponents have found that freeway expansion is often self-defeating: expansion simply generates more traffic. That is, even if traffic congestion is initially shifted from local streets to a new or widened freeway, people will begin to run errands and commute to more remote locations. Over time, the freeway and its environs become congested again as both the average number and distance of trips increases. This idea is known as induced demand
.
Urban planning experts such as Drusilla Van Hengel, Joseph DiMento, and Sherry Ryan argue that although properly designed and maintained freeways may be convenient and safe, at least in comparison to uncontrolled roads, they may not expand recreation, employment and education opportunities equally for different ethnic groups, or for people located in certain neighborhoods of a given city. Still, they may open new markets to some small business
es.
Construction of urban freeways for the U.S. Interstate Highway System, which began in the late 1950s, led to the demolition of thousands of city blocks, and the dislocation of many more thousands of people. The citizens of many inner city areas responded with the freeway and expressway revolts
. Through the study of Washington's response, it can be shown that the most effective changes came not from executive or legislative action, but instead from policy implementation. One of the foremost rationales for the creation of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) was that an agency was needed to mediate between the conflicting interests of interstates and cities. Initially, these policies came as regulation of the state highway departments. Over time, DOT officials re-focused highway building from a national level to the local scale. With this shift of perspective came an encouragement for alternative transportation, and locally based planning agencies.
At present, freeway expansion has largely stalled in the United States
, due to a multitude of factors that converged in the 1970s: higher due process
requirements prior to taking of private property
, increasing land values, increasing costs for construction materials, local opposition to new freeways in urban cores, the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act
(which imposed the requirement that each new federally funded project must have an environmental impact statement
or report), and falling gas tax revenues as a result of the nature of the flat-cent tax (it is not automatically adjusted for inflation), the tax revolt
movement, and growing popular support for high-speed mass transit in lieu of new freeways.
the zones were defined for Zones 1 to 4 based on the proposed M2, M3
and M4 motorway
s. The M5
and M6
numbers were reserved for the other two planned long distance motorways. The Preston Bypass, the UK's first motorway, should have been numbered A6(M) under the scheme decided upon, but it was decided to keep the number M6 as had already been applied. Certain portions or bypasses of A-roads may be designated as motorways, the name of these portions being given the suffix "(M)". An example is the A1(M).
In Scotland, where the Scottish Office
(superseded by the Scottish Government in 1999) rather than the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation
had the decision, there is no zonal pattern, but rather the A-road rule is strictly enforced. It was decided to reserve the numbers 7, 8 and 9 for Scotland. The M8 follows the route of the A8, and the M85
became part of the M90
when the A90 was re-routed along the path of the A85.
In Northern Ireland
a distinct numbering system is used, which is separate from the rest of Ireland
and from Britain
, though the classification of roads along the lines of A, B, and C is universal throughout the UK and the Isle of Man
. According to a written answer to a parliamentary question to the Northern Ireland Minister for Regional Development
, there is no known reason as to how Northern Ireland's road numbering system was devised. However motorways, as in the rest of the UK and Ireland, are numbered M, with the two major motorways coming from Belfast
being numbered M1
and M2
. The M12
is a short spur of the M1 with the M22
being a short continuation (originally intended to be a spur) of the M2. There are two other motorways, the short M3
and a motorway section of the A8 road
, known as the A8(M)
(similar to how motorway sections of A-roads in Great Britain are numbered).
, motorway and national road numbering is quite different to the UK convention. Since the passage of the Roads Act 1993, all motorways are part of, or form, national primary road
s. These routes are numbered in series, (usually, radiating anti-clockwise from Dublin, starting with the N1/M1) using numbers from 1 to 33 (and, separately from the series, 50). Motorways use the number of the route of which they form part, with an M prefix rather than N for national road (or in theory, rather than R for regional road). In most cases, the motorway has been built as a bypass of a road previously forming the national road (e.g. the M7 bypassing roads previously forming the N7) – the bypassed roads are reclassified as regional road
s, although updated signposting may not be provided for some time, and adherence to signage colour conventions is lax (regional roads have black-on-white directional signage, national routes use white-on-green).
Under the previous legislation, the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act 1974, motorways theoretically existed independently to national roads, however the short sections of motorway opened during this act, except for the M50, always took their number from the national road that they were bypassing. The older road was not downgraded at this point (indeed, regional roads were not legislated for at this stage). Older signage at certain junctions on the M7 and M11 can be seen reflecting this earlier scheme, where for example N11 and M11 can be seen coexisting.
The M50
, an entirely new national road, is an exception to the normal inheritance process, as it does not replace a road previously carrying an N number. The M50 was nevertheless legislated in 1994 as the N50 route (it had only a short section of non-motorway section form the Junction 11 Tallaght to Junction 12 Firhouse until its extension as the Southern Cross Motorway). The M50's designation was chosen as a recognisable number. As of 2010, the N34 is the next unused national primary road designation. In theory, a motorway in Ireland could form part of a regional road.
, similar to Ireland, motorway numbers can be derived from the original national highway numbers (1–7), with an M prefix attached, e.g. M7
is on the route of the old Highway 7 from Budapest
towards Lake Balaton
and Croatia
. New motorways not following the original Budapest-centered radial highway system get numbers M8, M9, etc., or M0 in the case of the ring road around Budapest.
Also in the Netherlands
, motorway numbers can be derived from the original national highway numbers, but with an A prefix attached, like A9
.
In Germany
motorways have the prefix A. If the following number is an odd number the motorway generally follows a North-South direction, even-numbered motorways generally follow an East-West direction
In New Zealand
, as well as in the Scandinavia
n countries, and in Finland
and Russia
, motorway numbers are also derived from the state highway route that they form a part of, but unlike Hungary and Ireland, they are not distinguished from non motorway sections of the same state highway route. In the cases where a new motorway acts as a bypass of a state highway route, the original state highway is either stripped of that status or renumbered. A low road number means a road suitable for long distance driving.
In Australia
, motorway numbering varies from state to state. Currently most states are adopting numbering systems with the prefix M for motorways.
In Pakistan
, motorways are denoted with the prefix M.
's capital cities feature a motorway network within their urban areas. Sydney
, Melbourne
, Brisbane
and Perth
each feature freeway and motorway systems, while Canberra
, Adelaide
, Hobart
and the regional centres of Newcastle
, Geelong, Gold Coast
, and Wollongong feature a selection of limited-access routes. Outside these areas traffic volumes do not generally demand motorway-standard access, although heavily trafficked regional corridors such as Sydney-Newcastle (M1 Sydney-Newcastle Freeway
), Brisbane-Gold Coast (M1 Pacific Motorway
), Melbourne-Geelong (M1 Princes Freeway
) and that form part of major long-distance routes feature high-standard motorway links.
While Sydney and Canberra (NH23 Federal Highway (Australia)
) are the only two Australian capitals connected by a continuous dual-highway, upgrades to full dual-highway of the heavy-use Sydney-Melbourne (A31/M31 Hume Highway/Freeway
) and Sydney-Brisbane (M1 Pacific Highway
) interstate routes, a total length of more than 2000 km (1,242.7 mi), are underway. As of mid-2011 the NH23 was not a true controlled-access highway as many country settlements had at-level access to the highway with a large (20 m) central reservation providing a refuge for traffic that had to cross one carriageway to get to the other.
Unlike many other countries, Australia's motorways are being opened to cyclists. As the respective state government
s upgrade their state's motorways bicycle lanes are being added and/or shoulders
widened alongside the motorways.
The National Trunk Highway System (NTHS) expressway network of the People's Republic of China
is the second longest in the world, just 1000 miles short of the U.S. interstate system as of 2010. The total length of China's expressways was 74000 kilometres (45,981.6 mi) by the end of 2010, the world's second longest only after the United States
and roughly equal to Canada, Germany, France and Japan combined. In 2009, 4719 kilometres (2,932.3 mi) of expressways were added to this network.
Expressways in China are a fairly recent addition to a complicated network of roads. According to Chinese government sources, China did not have any expressways before 1988. One of the earliest expressways nationwide was the Jingshi Expressway
between Beijing
and Shijiazhuang
in Hebei
province. This expressway now forms part of the Jingzhu Expressway
, currently one of the longest expressways nationwide at over 2000 kilometres (1,242.7 mi).
Germany's autobahn network has a total length of about 12,800 km, or 7,950 miles (in 2010), which ranks as the fifth-longest in the world behind the Interstate Highway System
of the United States, the National Trunk Highway System
(NTHS) of the People's Republic of China, the expressways of the National Highway System of Canada and the Autopistas of Spain. German autobahns have no general speed limit
(though about 47% of the total length is subject to local and/or conditional limits), but the advisory speed limit
Richtgeschwindigkeit) is 130 kilometres per hour (80.8 mph).
A map Shewing Future Pattern of Principal National Routes was issued by the Ministry of War Transport in 1946 shortly before the law that allowed roads to be restricted to specified classes of vehicle (the Special Roads Act 1949
) was passed. The first section of motorway, the M6 Preston Bypass
, opened in 1958 followed by the first major section of motorway (the M1
between Crick
and Berrygrove), which opened in 1959. From then onwards, motorways opened on a regular basis right into the 1980s; by 1972 the first 1000 miles (1,609 km) of motorway had been built.
Whilst roads outside of urban areas continued to be built throughout the 1970s, opposition to urban routes became more pronounced. Most notably, plans by the Greater London Council
for a series of ringways
were cancelled following extensive road protests and a rise in costs. In 1986 the compromised, single-ring, M25 motorway
was completed. In 1996 the total length of motorways reached 2000 miles (3,219 km).
Expressways in India
make up more than 600 km (372.8 mi) of the Indian National Highway System on which they are the highest class of road. The National Highways Development Project
is underway to add an additional 18637 km (11,580.5 mi) of expressways to the network by the year 2022.
, though it did so under temporary powers until the Special Roads Act had been passed. Work on the motorways continued until the 1970s when the oil crisis
and The Troubles
both intervened causing the abandonment of many schemes.
In the Republic of Ireland the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act 1974 made motorways possible, although the first section, the M7 Naas Bypass, did not open until 1983. The first section of the M50
opened in 1990, a part of which was Ireland's first toll
motorway, the West-Link
. However it would be the 1990s before substantial sections of motorway were opened in Ireland, with the first completed motorway – the 83 km (52 mi) M1 motorway – being finished in 2005.
Under the Transport 21
infrastructural plan, motorways or high quality dual carriageways were built between Dublin and the major cities of Cork
, Galway
, Limerick
and Waterford
by the end of 2010. Other shorter sections of motorway either have been or will be built on some other main routes. In 2007 legislation (the Roads Bill 2007) was created to allow existing roads be designated motorways by order because previously legislation allowed only for newly built roads to be designated motorways.
As a result, most HQDCs nationwide (other than some sections near Dublin on the N4 and N7, which did not fully meet motorway standards) were reclassified as motorways. The first stage in this process occurred when all the HQDC schemes open or under construction on the N7 and N8, and between Kinnegad
and Athlone on the N6 and Kilcullen
and south of Carlow
on the N9, were reclassified motorway on 24 September 2008. Further sections of dual carriageway were reclassified in 2009.
As of December 2011, the Republic of Ireland has around 1,017 kilometres (632 mi) of motorways.
. It linked Milan to Varese
; it was then extended to Como
, near the border with Switzerland
, inaugurated on 28 June 1925. Piero Puricelli, the engineer who designed this new type of road, decided to cover the expenses by introducing a toll
.
Other motorways built before World War II
in Italy
were Naples
-Pompeii
, Florence
-Pisa
, Padua
-Venice
, Milan
-Turin
, Milan-Bergamo
-Brescia
and Rome
-Ostia
.
Type B highway (or strada extraurbana principale), commonly but unofficially known as superstrada, is a divided highway with at least two lanes for each direction, paved shoulder on the right, no cross-traffic and no at-grade intersections. Access restrictions on such highways are exactly the same of autostrade, as well as signage at the beginning and the end of the highway (with the only difference being the background color, blue instead of green).
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make up the majority of controlled-access highways in Japan. The network boasts an uninterrupted link between Aomori Prefecture
at the northern part of Honshū
and Kagoshima Prefecture
at the southern part of Kyūshū
, linking Shikoku
as well. Additional expressways serve travellers in Hokkaidō
and on Okinawa Island
, although those are not connected to the Honshū-Kyūshū-Shikoku grid. Expressways have a combined length of 8,730 km as of March 2005.
The term Motorway in New Zealand
encompasses multilane divided freeways as well as narrower 2-4-lane undivided expressways
with varying degrees of grade separation
; the term Motorway describes the legal traffic restrictions rathjer than the type of road.
New Zealand's motorway network is small due to the nation's low population density and low traffic volumes making it uneconomical to build controlled-access highways outside the major urban centres.
New Zealand's first motorway opened in December 1950 near Wellington
, running from Johnsonville to Tawa. This 5 km (3.1 mi) motorway now forms the southern part of the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway
and part of State Highway 1. Auckland's first stretch of motorway was opened in 1953 between Ellerslie and Mount Wellington (between present-day Exit 435 and Exit 438), and now forms part of the Southern Motorway
.
Most major urban areas in New Zealand feature limited-access highways. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin contain motorways, with only Auckland having a substantial motorway network.
Pakistan
has a network of high-quality, international-standard limited access (or access-controlled) motorways, which are maintained and operated by the National Highway Authority
. In August 2009, operational motorways in Pakistan had a combined length of 632 km (392.7 mi) with another 233 km (144.8 mi) under construction and further planned.
Pakistan's motorways are part of Pakistan's National Trade Corridor project that aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea
ports of Karachi
, Port Qasim
and Gwadar
to the rest of the country and further on with Afghanistan
, Central Asia
and China
.
Pakistan's first motorway, the M2
, was inaugurated in November 1997. The M2 is a 367 km (228 mi) long, six-lane motorway that links Pakistan's federal capital, Islamabad
, with Punjab
's provincial capital, Lahore
. Since the completion of the M2, two additional motorways have become operational. These are the 54 km (33.6 mi) four-lane (with capacity to increase to six lanes) M3 (Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad
), which links the M2 to Faisalabad and the 154 km (95.7 mi) six-lane M1 (Peshawar
-Islamabad). One additional motorway is currently under-construction, the 233 km (144.8 mi) four-lane (with capacity to increase to six lanes) M4 (Faisalabad-Multan
).
.
The highways in Poland
are divided into motorways and expressways. As of November 2011, there are 926 kilometre of motorways (autostrady, singular - autostrada) and 718 kilometre of expressways
(drogi ekspresowe, singular - droga ekspresowa).
Expressways in Poland are limited-access road
s which can be dual
or single carriageway
s. As of January 20, 2011 there are 718 kilometre of expressways in Poland. There are about 570 kilometre of expressways in various stages of construction. The start of an expressway in Poland is marked with sign of white car on blue background, while number sign for an expressway is of red background and white letters, with the letter S preceding a number.
On May 15, 2004 the Regulation of the Council of Ministers (on the network of motorways and express roads) referred to a network of motorways and expressways in Poland totalling about 7200 kilometre (including about 2000 kilometre of motorways). Regulation from February 2007 added roads S2
and S79
to the list. Regulation from October 2009 supplemented plans with road S61
. The following table summarizes the planned expressways in accordance with government regulations. Please note the lengths are approximate and are only indicative. As of end of January 2011 there are over 700 km (435 mi) of both single and dual-carriageway expressways in Poland. There are about 570 kilometre of expressways in various stages of construction.
In South Africa, the term freeway differs from most parts of the world. A freeway is a road where certain restrictions apply.
The following are forbidden from using a freeway:
Drivers may not use hand signals on a freeway (except in emergencies) and the minimum speed on a freeway is 60 km/h (37 mph). Drivers in the rightmost lane of multi-carriageway freeways must move to the left if a faster vehicle approaches from behind to overtake.
Despite popular opinion that "freeway" means a road with at least two lanes, single carriageway freeways exist, as is evidenced by the statement that "the roads include 1,400 km of dual carriageway freeway, 440 kilometres (273.4 mi) of single carriageway freeway and 5300 kilometres (3,293.3 mi) of single carriage main road with unlimited access."
The Afrikaans
translation of freeway is snelweg (literally fast road or expressway).
With 15152 km (9,415 mi), the Spanish motorway network is the fourth largest in the world by length, after the United States, China and Canada. Autopistas are specifically reserved for automobile travel, so all vehicles not able to sustain at least 60 km/h (37 mph) are banned from them. General speed limits are mandated by the Spanish Traffic Law as 60–120 km/h (37.3–74.6 mph). Specific limits may be imposed based on road, meteorologic or traffic conditions. Spanish legislation requires an alternate route to be provided for slower vehicles. Many, but not all, autopistas are toll roads, which also mandates an alternate toll-free route under the Spanish laws.
Thailand's motorway network is considered to be separate from Thailand's expressway network, which is the system of usually elevated expressways within Greater Bangkok. Thailand also has a provincial highway network.
The Thai highway network spans over 70000 kilometres (43,496.1 mi) across all regions of Thailand. These highways, however, are often dual carriageways with frequent u-turn lanes and intersections slowing down traffic. Coupled with the increase in the number of vehicles and the demand for a limited-access motorway, the Thai Government issued a Cabinet resolution in 1997 detailing the motorway construction master plan. Some upgraded sections of highway are being turned into a "motorway", while other motorways are being purpose-built.
In the United States, a freeway is defined by the federal government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
as a divided highway with full control of access.
This means two things. First, adjoining property owners do not have a legal right of access,
meaning that they cannot connect their lands to the highway by constructing driveways, although frontage road
s provide access to properties adjacent to a freeway in many places. When an existing road is converted into a freeway, all existing driveways must be removed and access to adjacent private lands must be blocked with fences or walls.
Second, traffic on a freeway is "free-flowing". All cross-traffic (and left-turning traffic) is relegated to overpasses or underpasses, so that there are no traffic conflicts on the main line of the highway which must be regulated by traffic lights, stop signs, or other traffic control devices. Achieving such free flow requires the construction of many overpasses, underpasses, and ramp systems. The advantage of grade-separated interchanges is that freeway drivers can almost always maintain their speed at junctions since they do not need to yield to vehicles crossing perpendicular to mainline traffic.
In contrast, an expressway
is defined as a divided highway with partial control of access.
Expressways may have driveways and at-grade intersections, though these are usually less numerous than on ordinary arterial roads.
This distinction was apparently first developed in 1949 by the Special Committee on Nomenclature of what is now the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
.
In turn, the definitions were incorporated into AASHTO's official standards book, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which would become the national standards book of the U.S. Department of Transportation under a 1966 federal statute. The same distinction has also been codified into the statutory law of eight states: California
, Minnesota
, Mississippi
, Missouri
, Nebraska
, North Dakota
, Ohio
, and Wisconsin
.
However, each state codified the federal distinction slightly differently. California expressways do not necessarily have to be divided, though they must have at least partial access control. For both terms to apply, in Wisconsin, a divided highway must be at least four lanes wide; and in Missouri, both terms apply only to divided highways at least 10 miles (16.1 km) long that are not part of the Interstate Highway System. In North Dakota and Mississippi, expressways may have "full or partial" access control and "generally" have grade separations at intersections; a freeway is then defined as an expressway with full access control. Ohio's statute is similar, but instead of the vague word generally, it imposes a requirement that 50% of an expressway's intersections must be grade-separated for the term to apply.
Only Minnesota enacted the exact MUTCD definitions, in May 2008.
The term expressway is also used for what the federal government calls "freeways"; Where the terms are distinguished, freeways can be characterized as expressways upgraded to full access control, while not all expressways are freeways.
Examples in the United States of roads which are technically expressways (under the federal definition), but contain the word "freeway" in their names: State Fair Freeway
in Kansas, Chino Valley Freeway, Rockaway Freeway
in New York, and Shenango Valley Freeway (a portion of U.S. Route 62
) in Pennsylvania.
Unlike some countries not all freeways are part of a national network. In the U.S, freeways may be built and maintained by any level of government so some freeways such as California 99 and parts of US 127 in Michigan carry state highway and U.S Highway designations.
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated. They are known by various terms worldwide, including autobahn, autopista, autoroute, autostrada, autosnelweg, freeway, motorway, and sometimes less precise terms such as expressway, parkway
Parkway (disambiguation)
-Road:*A scenic route, or a road giving access through, or into, a park, or a rural district, or an area of wilderness*A controlled-access highway, especially in North America, especially one which is more scenic or particularly suited to light vehicles, or for recreational motoring*A landscaped...
, or turnpike.
A controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections or property access
Frontage
Frontage is the full length of a plot of land or a building measured alongside the road on to which the plot or building fronts. This is considered especially important for certain types of commercial and retail real estate, in applying zoning bylaws and property tax...
. They are free of any at-grade crossings
At-grade intersection
An at-grade intersection is a junction at which two or more transport axes cross at the same level .-Traffic management:With areas of high or fast traffic, an at-grade intersection normally requires a traffic control device such as a stop sign, traffic light or railway signal to manage conflicting...
with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpass
Overpass
An overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway...
es and underpasses across the highway. Entrance and exit to the highway are provided at interchanges
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
by slip roads (ramps), which allow for speed changes between the highway and arterial thoroughfares and collector roads. On the highway, opposing directions of travel are physically separated by a central reservation
Central reservation
On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
(median), such as a strip of grass or boulders, or by a traffic barrier
Traffic barrier
Traffic barriers keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent vehicles from colliding with dangerous obstacles. Traffic barriers installed at the road side also prevent errant vehicles from traversing steep slopes. Traffic barriers installed at the medians of divided highways are also referred...
.
Controlled-access highways, as they exist today, evolved during the first half of the twentieth century. The Long Island Motor Parkway
Long Island Motor Parkway
The Long Island Motor Parkway , also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway and Motor Parkway, was the first roadway designed for automobile use only. It was privately built by William Kissam Vanderbilt with overpasses and bridges to remove intersections...
, opened in 1908 as a private venture, was the world's first limited-access roadway. It included many modern features, including banked turns, guard rail
Guard rail
Guard rail or guardrail, sometimes referred to as guide rail or railing, is a system designed to keep people or vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limits areas...
s and reinforced concrete tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
. Germany began to build its famous Reichsautobahn controlled-access highway network (then referred to as a Dual Highway) following the First World War. It rapidly assembled a nationwide system of such roads in anticipation of their use in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Italy followed shortly thereafter, opening its first Autostrada in 1925. Ontario and Pennsylvania opened the first North American freeways in 1940. Britain, heavily influenced by the railway, did not build its first motorway until the mid-1950s.
Most technologically advanced nations feature an extensive network of freeways or motorways. Many have a national-level system of route numbering
Road number
A road number is often assigned to a stretch of public roadway. The number chosen is often dependent on the type of road, with numbers differentiating between interstates, motorways, arterial thoroughfares, two-lane roads, and so forth.-United Kingdom:...
. The highway has brought with it the ability to access almost any part of the world with comfort and speed, improved fuel efficiency, and improved economic and cultural access among communities.
History
Modern controlled-access highways originated in the early 1920s in response to the rapidly increasing use of the automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, the demand for faster movement between cities and as a consequence of improvements in paving processes, techniques and materials. These original high-speed roads were referred to as "dual highways" and, while divided, bore little resemblance to the highways of today. The first dual highway in the world opened in 1921 between Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Varese
Varese
Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...
and now forms parts of the A8 and A9 motorways. This highway, while divided, featured only one lane in each direction and no interchanges. Shortly thereafter, in 1924, the Bronx River Parkway
Bronx River Parkway
The Bronx River Parkway is a long parkway in downstate New York. It is named for the nearby Bronx River, which it parallels. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Story Avenue near Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx neighborhood of Soundview...
was opened to traffic. The Bronx River Parkway was the first road in North America to utilize a median strip to separate the opposing lanes, to be constructed through a park and where intersecting streets crossed over bridges.
Definition
| ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers The Institute of Transportation Engineers or ITE is an international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs. ITE was founded in 1930 as the Institute of Traffic Engineers and its first president was Ernest P... |
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade... |
British Standards |
|---|---|---|
|
Road, specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and which:
|
|
Design
Intersection (road)
An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...
with other roads, railroads or multi-use trails. Movable bridges, such as the Interstate Bridge
Interstate Bridge
The Interstate Bridge is a pair of nearly identical steel vertical-lift, through-truss bridges that carry Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, in the United States...
on Interstate 5
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...
between Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Washington, do require drivers to stop for ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
traffic.
The crossing of freeways by other routes is typically achieved with grade separation either in the form of underpasses or overpass
Overpass
An overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway...
es. In addition to sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
s (footpaths) attached to roads that cross a freeway, specialized pedestrian footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
s or tunnels
Subway (underpass)
In England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and some Commonwealth countries , the term subway normally refers to a specially constructed underpass for pedestrians and/or cyclists beneath a road or railway, allowing them to reach the other side in safety.The term is also used in the...
may also be provided. These structures enable pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s and cyclists to cross the freeway at that point without a detour to the nearest road crossing.
Access to freeways is typically provided only at grade-separated interchanges
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
, though lower-standard right-in/right-out
Right-in/right-out
Right-in/right-out and left-in/left-out refer to a type of road intersection where turning movements of vehicles are restricted. A RIRO permits only right turns and a LILO permits only left turns. RIRO is usual where vehicles drive on the right, and LILO is usual where vehicles drive on the left...
access can be used for direct connections to side roads. In many cases, sophisticated interchanges allow for smooth, uninterrupted transitions between intersecting freeways and busy arterial road
Arterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
s. However, sometimes it is necessary to exit onto a surface road to transfer from one freeway to another. An example of this would be Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
in the town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania
Breezewood, Pennsylvania
Breezewood is an unincorporated town in Bedford County in south-central Pennsylvania.Along a traditional pathway for Native Americans, European settlers, and British troops during colonial times, in the early 20th century, the small valley that became known as Breezewood was a popular stopping...
.
Speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
s are generally higher on freeways and are occasionally nonexistent (as on much of Germany's Autobahn
German Autobahnen
The German autobahns are the nationally coordinated motorway system in Germany. In German, they are officially called Bundesautobahn , which translates as federal expressways...
network). Because higher speeds reduce decision time, freeways are usually equipped with a larger number of guide signs than other roads, and the signs themselves are physically larger. Guide signs are often mounted on overpasses or overhead gantries
Gantry (road sign)
A gantry is a traffic sign assembly in which signs are mounted on an overhead support, or railway signals supported....
so that drivers can see where each lane goes. Exit numbers are commonly derived from the exit's distance in miles or kilometers from the start of the freeway. In some areas, there are public rest area
Rest area
A rest area, travel plaza, rest stop, or service area is a public facility, located next to a large thoroughfare such as a highway, expressway, or freeway at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting on to secondary roads...
s or service areas on freeways, as well as emergency phones on the shoulder at regular intervals.
In the United States, mileposts start at the southern or westernmost point on the freeway (either its terminus or the state line). California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
use milepost
California postmile
California uses a postmile system on all of its state highways, including U.S. Routes and Interstate Highways. The postmile markers indicate the distance a route travels through individual counties, as opposed to mile markers that indicate the distance traveled through a state.-Format:A postmile...
systems in which the markers indicate mileage through the state's individual counties. However, in Nevada and Ohio, and freeways that pass through Kern County, California
Kern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
, also use the standard milepost system concurrently with their respective postmile systems.
Cross sections
Two-lane freewayTwo-lane freeway
A two-lane expressway is an expressway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes rise. The term super two is often used by roadgeeks for this type of road, but traffic...
s, often undivided, are sometimes built when traffic volumes are low or right-of-way is limited; they may be designed for easy conversion to one side of a four-lane freeway. Otherwise, freeways typically have at least two lanes in each direction; some busy ones can have as many as 16 or more lanes in total.
In Mississauga, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Highway 401 uses collector-express lanes
Local-express lanes
A Local-express lane system is an arrangement of roadways within a major highway providing one of more roadways for express lanes with a limited number of entrances and exits and also separate roadways for local or collector lanes which provide access to all interchanges...
for a total of 18 lanes through its intersection with 403/410 and 427. In San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, Interstate 5
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...
has a similar system of express and local lanes for a maximum width of 21 lanes on a two-mile segment between Interstate 805
Interstate 805
Interstate 805 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the eastern areas of the Greater San Diego area from San Ysidro near the Mexico–U.S...
and California State Route 56
California State Route 56
State Route 56 runs from Interstate 5 in the Carmel Valley neighborhood of San Diego to Interstate 15. Route 56 was originally planned in 1964 to connect to the north end of State Route 125 and continue east to State Route 67, but the city of Poway worked to make sure that would not be possible...
.
These wide freeways may use separate collector and express lanes to separate through traffic from local traffic, or special high-occupancy vehicle lane
High-occupancy vehicle lane
In transportation engineering and transportation planning, a high-occupancy vehicle lane is a lane reserved for vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers...
s, either as a special restriction on the innermost lane or a separate roadway, to encourage carpool
Carpool
Carpooling , is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car....
ing. These HOV lanes, or roadways open to all traffic, can be reversible lane
Reversible lane
A reversible lane , called a counterflow lane or contraflow lane in transport engineering nomenclature, is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions...
s, providing more capacity in the direction of heavy traffic, and reversing direction before traffic switches. Sometimes a collector/distributor road, a shorter version of a local lane, shifts weaving between closely spaced interchanges to a separate roadway or altogether eliminates it.
In some parts of the world, notably parts of the U.S., frontage road
Frontage road
A frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
s form an integral part of the freeway system. These parallel surface roads provide a transition between high-speed "through" traffic and local traffic. Frequent slip-ramps provide access between the freeway and the frontage road, which in turn provides direct access to local roads and businesses.
Except on some two-lane freeway
Two-lane freeway
A two-lane expressway is an expressway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes rise. The term super two is often used by roadgeeks for this type of road, but traffic...
s (and very rarely on wider freeways), a median separates the opposite directions of traffic. This strip may be as simple as a grassy area, or may include a crash barrier such as a "Jersey barrier
Jersey barrier
A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall is a modular concrete barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to both minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing crossover in the case of head-on accidents....
" or an "Ontario Tall Wall" to prevent head-on collision
Head-on collision
A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...
s. On some freeways, the two carriageways are built on different alignments; this may be done to make use of available corridors in a mountainous area or to provide narrower corridors through dense urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s.
Some roads in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
that conform to freeway criteria use at-grade intersections in lieu of over/under-passes, with occasional interchanges to avoid signalized traffic interruption (i.e., traffic lights are omitted). Examples include US 23 between OH-15's eastern terminus and Delaware, Ohio
Delaware, Ohio
The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...
, along with Highway 15 between its eastern terminus and I-75, US-30, OH-29/US-33, and US-35 in western and central Ohio. These highways are fundamentally expressways, but expressways tend to have lower design speeds, and signalized at-grade intersections.
Control of access
Freeways are usually limited to motor vehicles of a minimum power or weight; signs may prohibit bicyclists, pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s and equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
s and impose a minimum speed. It is possible for non-motorized traffic to use facilities within the same right-of-way, such as sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
s constructed along freeway-standard bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s and multi-use paths next to freeways such as the Suncoast Trail along the Suncoast Parkway in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In some US jurisdictions, especially where freeways replace existing roads, non-motorized access on freeways is permitted. Different states of the United States have different laws. Cycling on freeways in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
may be prohibited only where there is an alternative route judged equal or better for cycling. Wyoming, the least populated state, allows cycling on all freeways. Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
allows bicycles except on specific urban freeways in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and Medford
Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...
.
In countries such as the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the difference between a normal road and a freeway-class road (motorway/autobahn) is the restriction of low-speed traffic. Many roads are built to freeway standards but are not legally a freeway-class road for this reason. Indeed, some freeway-class roads are downgraded for short stretches where no alternative exists, to allow low-speed traffic; examples in the UK include the Dartford Crossing
Dartford Crossing
The Dartford - Thurrock River Crossing, Dartford River Crossing is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, connecting Dartford in the south to Thurrock in the north, via two road tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. It opened in stages, the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel...
(the furthest downstream public crossing of the Thames), and the former Cumberland Gap
A74 road
The A74 was a major trunk road in the United Kingdom, linking Glasgow in Scotland to Carlisle in the North West of England. The road has been largely replaced by the A74 and M74 motorways and now only one short stub remains....
, as well as sections of the A1 not yet designated A1(M), various lengths of the A5, and the entirety of other important and near-motorway-standard links such as the A14, A34, A38, A42, A50, A55... long stretches of which carry 70 mph (112.7 km/h) speed limits. The reasons for such designation vary – physical lack of space (A55), restricted budget (e.g. A42 – a full-standard motorway would have been more expensive than an A-road; a motorway with additional service roads further still), to permit local access in remote areas or because of legislative or political wrangling (easier to have A-road construction or upgrade authorised and accepted than a more emotionally charged "motorway scheme", and does not require issuing of Special Road orders). Continental European non-motorway dual carriageways can have limits as high as 110 –. U.S. Route 23 in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
has a speed limit as high as 65 mph (104.6 km/h) but isn't legally a freeway-class road since it has no disclaimers saying that low-speed vehicles are prohibited; it also has at-grade intersections like expressway-class roadways.
Research shows 85 percent of motor vehicle-bicycle crashes follow turning or crossing at intersections. Freeway travel eliminates almost all those conflicts save at entrance and exit ramps – which, at least on those freeways where cycling has not been banned, have sufficient room and sight for cyclists and motorists. An analysis of crashes in Arizona showed no safety problems with cycling on freeways. Fewer than one motor vehicle-bicycle crash a year was recorded on nearly 2000 shoulder-miles open to cyclists in Arizona.
Construction techniques
The most frequent way freeways are laid out is usually by building them from the ground up after things such as forestry or buildings are cleared away. Sometimes they deplete farmland, but other methods have been developed for economic, social, and even environmental reasons.Full freeways are sometimes made by converting at-grade expressways or by replacing at-grade intersections with overpasses; however, any at-grade intersection that ends a freeway remains. Often, when there is a two-lane undivided freeway or expressway, it is converted by constructing a twin corridor on the side by leaving a median between the two travel directions. The opposing side for the old two-way corridor becomes a passing lane.
Other techniques involve building a new carriageway on the side of a divided highway that has a lot of private access on one side and sometimes has long driveways on the other side since an easement for widening comes into place, especially in rural areas.
When a "third" carriageway is added, sometimes it can shift a directional carriageway by 50–200 ft (or maybe more depending on land availability) as a way to retain privrate access on one side that favors over the other. Other instances involve constructing a service drive that shortens the long driveways typically by less than 100 m.
Environmental effects
Controlled-access highways have been constructed both between urban centres and within them, leading to the sprawling suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an development found near most modern cities. They ideally serve to reduce travel times and accident rates, though the higher speeds have increased the severity and death rates of the collision
Collision
A collision is an isolated event which two or more moving bodies exert forces on each other for a relatively short time.Although the most common colloquial use of the word "collision" refers to accidents in which two or more objects collide, the scientific use of the word "collision" implies...
s that do occur.
Highways have been heavily criticized by environmentalists, urbanists, and preservationists for the noise,
pollution, and economic shifts they bring.
Additionally, they have been criticized by the driving public for the inefficiency with which they handle peak hour traffic.
Often, rural highways open up vast areas to economic development and municipal services, generally raising property values. In contrast to this, above-grade highways in urban areas are often a source of lowered property values, contributing to urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
. Even with overpasses and underpasses, neighbourhoods are divided — especially impoverished ones where residents are less likely to own a car, or to have the political and economic influence to resist construction efforts. Beginning in the early 1970s, the U.S. Congress identified freeways and other urban highways as responsible for most of the noise exposure of the U.S. population. Subsequently, computer models were developed to analyze freeway noise and aid in their design to help minimize noise exposure.
Some cities have implemented freeway removal
Freeway removal
Freeway removal is a public policy of urban planning designed to create mixed-use urban areas with a concentration of residential, commercial, and other land uses. Also known as activity centres, cities have begun removing existing or incomplete infrastructure to create parks, waterfronts, and...
policies in which freeways have even been demolished and reclaimed as boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
s or parks, notably in Portland (Harbor Drive), New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(West Side Highway
West Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
), Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(Central Artery
Central Artery
The John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, known locally as the Central Artery, is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, designated as Interstate 93, U.S. Route 1 and Route 3. It was initially constructed in the 1950s as a partly elevated and partly tunneled divided highway...
), San Francisco (Embarcadero Freeway) and Milwaukee (Park East Freeway).
An alternative to surface or above ground freeway construction has been the construction of underground urban freeways using tunnelling technologies. This has been extremely successful in the Australian cities of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
(which has five such freeways) and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
(which has two such freeways). This has had the benefit of removing traffic from surface roads and in the case of Melbourne's Eastlink Motorway, has helped preserve an ecologically sensitive area from destruction.
Other Australian cities face similar problems (lack of available land, cost of home acquisition, aesthetic problems, and community opposition). Brisbane, which also has to contend with physical boundaries (the river) and heavy population increases, has embraced underground tunnel freeways. There are currently three under active development, one of which (the North-South Bypass Tunnel
North-South Bypass Tunnel, Brisbane
The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel , known during its development as the North-South Bypass Tunnel , is a A$3.2 billion toll road built under the Brisbane River, which crosses between the suburbs of Woolloongabba and Bowen Hills in Brisbane, Australia. The CLEM7 Community Open Day, a public open day...
) is currently under construction. All of the planned tunnels include provisions for public transport, whether underground or in reclaimed space on the surface.
Freeway opponents have found that freeway expansion is often self-defeating: expansion simply generates more traffic. That is, even if traffic congestion is initially shifted from local streets to a new or widened freeway, people will begin to run errands and commute to more remote locations. Over time, the freeway and its environs become congested again as both the average number and distance of trips increases. This idea is known as induced demand
Induced demand
Induced demand, or latent demand, is the phenomenon that after supply increases, more of a good is consumed. This is entirely consistent with the economic theory of supply and demand; however, this idea has become important in the debate over the expansion of transportation systems, and is often...
.
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
es.
Construction of urban freeways for the U.S. Interstate Highway System, which began in the late 1950s, led to the demolition of thousands of city blocks, and the dislocation of many more thousands of people. The citizens of many inner city areas responded with the freeway and expressway revolts
Freeway and expressway revolts
Many freeway revolts took place in developed countries during the 1960s and 1970s, in response to plans for the construction of new freeways, a significant number of which were abandoned or significantly scaled back due to widespread public opposition; especially of those whose neighborhoods would...
. Through the study of Washington's response, it can be shown that the most effective changes came not from executive or legislative action, but instead from policy implementation. One of the foremost rationales for the creation of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) was that an agency was needed to mediate between the conflicting interests of interstates and cities. Initially, these policies came as regulation of the state highway departments. Over time, DOT officials re-focused highway building from a national level to the local scale. With this shift of perspective came an encouragement for alternative transportation, and locally based planning agencies.
At present, freeway expansion has largely stalled in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, due to a multitude of factors that converged in the 1970s: higher due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
requirements prior to taking of private property
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
, increasing land values, increasing costs for construction materials, local opposition to new freeways in urban cores, the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
(which imposed the requirement that each new federally funded project must have an environmental impact statement
Environmental impact statement
An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...
or report), and falling gas tax revenues as a result of the nature of the flat-cent tax (it is not automatically adjusted for inflation), the tax revolt
Tax revolt
A tax revolt is a political struggle to repeal, limit, or roll back a tax.-1930s, The Great Depression:In the United States, the term "tax revolt" is sometimes used to refer to a series of anti-tax state initiative campaigns. The first significant wave of these campaigns was during the 1930s. The...
movement, and growing popular support for high-speed mass transit in lieu of new freeways.
Great Britain
In England and Wales, the numbers of major motorways followed a numbering system separate to that of the A-road network, though based on the same principle of zones. Running clockwise from the M1M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
the zones were defined for Zones 1 to 4 based on the proposed M2, M3
M3 motorway
The M3 motorway runs in England for approximately from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire and forms an unsigned section European route E05. It is dual three lanes as far as Junction 8 near Basingstoke and then dual two lane until Junction 9 near Winchester and then dual three...
and M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
s. The M5
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
and M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
numbers were reserved for the other two planned long distance motorways. The Preston Bypass, the UK's first motorway, should have been numbered A6(M) under the scheme decided upon, but it was decided to keep the number M6 as had already been applied. Certain portions or bypasses of A-roads may be designated as motorways, the name of these portions being given the suffix "(M)". An example is the A1(M).
In Scotland, where the Scottish Office
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
(superseded by the Scottish Government in 1999) rather than the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
had the decision, there is no zonal pattern, but rather the A-road rule is strictly enforced. It was decided to reserve the numbers 7, 8 and 9 for Scotland. The M8 follows the route of the A8, and the M85
became part of the M90
M90 motorway
The M90 is a motorway in Scotland. It runs from Inverkeithing, at the north end of the Forth Road Bridge, to Perth, passing Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath and Kinross on the way...
when the A90 was re-routed along the path of the A85.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
a distinct numbering system is used, which is separate from the rest of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and from Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, though the classification of roads along the lines of A, B, and C is universal throughout the UK and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. According to a written answer to a parliamentary question to the Northern Ireland Minister for Regional Development
Department for Regional Development
The Department for Regional Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
, there is no known reason as to how Northern Ireland's road numbering system was devised. However motorways, as in the rest of the UK and Ireland, are numbered M, with the two major motorways coming from Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
being numbered M1
M1 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...
and M2
M2 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M2 is a motorway in Belfast and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is in two sections, the southern section running from north Belfast to Antrim and the northern section acts as a bypass of Ballymena, with the A26 road linking the two sections. In total it is 22 miles...
. The M12
M12 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M12 is a 1½ miles length of spur motorway in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was opened on 1970.It leads off the main M1 motorway, to Portadown, part of the conurbation of Portadown-Craigavon-Lurgan, and forms most of the route between junction 11 of the M1 and the A3 Northway at...
is a short spur of the M1 with the M22
M22 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M22 is a motorway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 5.6 miles long and connects the M2 with the A6. It forms part of the unsigned European route E16.-History:...
being a short continuation (originally intended to be a spur) of the M2. There are two other motorways, the short M3
M3 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M3 is an urban motorway 0.8 miles in length owned by Siac Construction and Cintra, S.A. that connects the M2 in north Belfast, Northern Ireland to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. It is the shortest motorway in Northern Ireland, and one of the busiest, carrying 60,000 vehicles per...
and a motorway section of the A8 road
A8 road (Northern Ireland)
The A8 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland is a principal route connecting Belfast and the harbour town of Larne. It is one of the busiest routes in the region and extends 26.1km from Glengormley to Larne via Ballynure...
, known as the A8(M)
A8(M) motorway (Northern Ireland)
The A8 is a motorway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 1 mile long and is a spur of the M2 motorway. It was opened on 24 October 1966 and built at the same time as the M2 section to which it connects...
(similar to how motorway sections of A-roads in Great Britain are numbered).
Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, motorway and national road numbering is quite different to the UK convention. Since the passage of the Roads Act 1993, all motorways are part of, or form, national primary road
National primary road
A national primary road is a road classification in the Republic of Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are over 2,700km of national primary roads. This category of road has the prefix "N" followed by one or two digits...
s. These routes are numbered in series, (usually, radiating anti-clockwise from Dublin, starting with the N1/M1) using numbers from 1 to 33 (and, separately from the series, 50). Motorways use the number of the route of which they form part, with an M prefix rather than N for national road (or in theory, rather than R for regional road). In most cases, the motorway has been built as a bypass of a road previously forming the national road (e.g. the M7 bypassing roads previously forming the N7) – the bypassed roads are reclassified as regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
s, although updated signposting may not be provided for some time, and adherence to signage colour conventions is lax (regional roads have black-on-white directional signage, national routes use white-on-green).
Under the previous legislation, the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act 1974, motorways theoretically existed independently to national roads, however the short sections of motorway opened during this act, except for the M50, always took their number from the national road that they were bypassing. The older road was not downgraded at this point (indeed, regional roads were not legislated for at this stage). Older signage at certain junctions on the M7 and M11 can be seen reflecting this earlier scheme, where for example N11 and M11 can be seen coexisting.
The M50
M50 motorway (Ireland)
The M50 motorway is a motorway in Ireland running in a C-shaped ring around the north-eastern, northern, western and southern sides of the capital city, Dublin. The northern end of the route is located at the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel. Anti-clockwise it heads northwest through the tunnel...
, an entirely new national road, is an exception to the normal inheritance process, as it does not replace a road previously carrying an N number. The M50 was nevertheless legislated in 1994 as the N50 route (it had only a short section of non-motorway section form the Junction 11 Tallaght to Junction 12 Firhouse until its extension as the Southern Cross Motorway). The M50's designation was chosen as a recognisable number. As of 2010, the N34 is the next unused national primary road designation. In theory, a motorway in Ireland could form part of a regional road.
Elsewhere
In HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, similar to Ireland, motorway numbers can be derived from the original national highway numbers (1–7), with an M prefix attached, e.g. M7
M7 motorway (Hungary)
The M7 motorway is a Hungarian motorway which runs from Budapest towards the Croatian border at Letenye, reaching Székesfehérvár, then Siófok, a town on Lake Balaton, and the city of Nagykanizsa in the southwest of the country....
is on the route of the old Highway 7 from Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
towards Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. New motorways not following the original Budapest-centered radial highway system get numbers M8, M9, etc., or M0 in the case of the ring road around Budapest.
Also in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, motorway numbers can be derived from the original national highway numbers, but with an A prefix attached, like A9
A9 motorway (Netherlands)
The A9 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. The motorway starts off by going from the A1 at Diemen to the A2 at junction 'Holendrecht'...
.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
motorways have the prefix A. If the following number is an odd number the motorway generally follows a North-South direction, even-numbered motorways generally follow an East-West direction
In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, as well as in the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries, and in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, motorway numbers are also derived from the state highway route that they form a part of, but unlike Hungary and Ireland, they are not distinguished from non motorway sections of the same state highway route. In the cases where a new motorway acts as a bypass of a state highway route, the original state highway is either stripped of that status or renumbered. A low road number means a road suitable for long distance driving.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, motorway numbering varies from state to state. Currently most states are adopting numbering systems with the prefix M for motorways.
In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, motorways are denoted with the prefix M.
Regional variation
While the design characteristics listed above are generally applicable around the globe, every jurisdiction provides its own specifications and design criteria for controlled-access highways.Australia
Most of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's capital cities feature a motorway network within their urban areas. Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
each feature freeway and motorway systems, while Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and the regional centres of Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, Geelong, Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, and Wollongong feature a selection of limited-access routes. Outside these areas traffic volumes do not generally demand motorway-standard access, although heavily trafficked regional corridors such as Sydney-Newcastle (M1 Sydney-Newcastle Freeway
Sydney-Newcastle Freeway
The Sydney-Newcastle Freeway is a stretch of motorway linking Sydney to the Central Coast, Newcastle and Hunter regions of New South Wales. It is part of the AusLink road corridor between Sydney and Brisbane, carrying the route designation....
), Brisbane-Gold Coast (M1 Pacific Motorway
Pacific Motorway
The Pacific Motorway is a 100 km long motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and the New South Wales-Queensland border at Tweed Heads. The motorway starts at Coronation Drive at Milton in Brisbane, and from 2008 links the Tweed Heads bypass in New South Wales...
), Melbourne-Geelong (M1 Princes Freeway
Princes Freeway
The Princes Freeway is a , 2 section freeway, which links Melbourne to Geelong on the west and Morwell on the east . It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes Highway towards Adelaide to the west and Sydney to the east...
) and that form part of major long-distance routes feature high-standard motorway links.
While Sydney and Canberra (NH23 Federal Highway (Australia)
Federal Highway (Australia)
The Federal Highway is a short highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. It is a part of the Sydney-Canberra National Highway link....
) are the only two Australian capitals connected by a continuous dual-highway, upgrades to full dual-highway of the heavy-use Sydney-Melbourne (A31/M31 Hume Highway/Freeway
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway/Hume Freeway is one of Australia's major inter-city highways, running for 880 km between Sydney and Melbourne. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and...
) and Sydney-Brisbane (M1 Pacific Highway
Pacific Highway (Australia)
The Pacific Highway is a major transport route along part of the east coast of Australia and is part of Australia's national route 1.It is 960 km long and links Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, along the coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port...
) interstate routes, a total length of more than 2000 km (1,242.7 mi), are underway. As of mid-2011 the NH23 was not a true controlled-access highway as many country settlements had at-level access to the highway with a large (20 m) central reservation providing a refuge for traffic that had to cross one carriageway to get to the other.
Unlike many other countries, Australia's motorways are being opened to cyclists. As the respective state government
State government
A state government is the government of a subnational entity in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or be subject to the direct control of the federal government...
s upgrade their state's motorways bicycle lanes are being added and/or shoulders
Shoulder (road)
A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of motor vehicle traffic...
widened alongside the motorways.
China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
is the second longest in the world, just 1000 miles short of the U.S. interstate system as of 2010. The total length of China's expressways was 74000 kilometres (45,981.6 mi) by the end of 2010, the world's second longest only after the United States
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
and roughly equal to Canada, Germany, France and Japan combined. In 2009, 4719 kilometres (2,932.3 mi) of expressways were added to this network.
Expressways in China are a fairly recent addition to a complicated network of roads. According to Chinese government sources, China did not have any expressways before 1988. One of the earliest expressways nationwide was the Jingshi Expressway
Jingshi Expressway
The Jingshi Expressway is an expressway in China which links Beijing to the Shijiazhuang. It is c. 270 km in length. Its road numbering is G030...
between Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...
in Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province. This expressway now forms part of the Jingzhu Expressway
Jingzhu Expressway
The Jingzhu Expressway is the first completed north-south expressway in the People's Republic of China, starting from Beijing and ending in Zhuhai, on the border with the Macau SAR....
, currently one of the longest expressways nationwide at over 2000 kilometres (1,242.7 mi).
Germany
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
of the United States, the National Trunk Highway System
Expressways of China
The Expressway Network of the People's Republic of China is one of the longest in the world. The network is also known as National Trunk Highway System . The total length of China's expressways was at the end of 2010, the world's second longest only after the United States and slightly longer...
(NTHS) of the People's Republic of China, the expressways of the National Highway System of Canada and the Autopistas of Spain. German autobahns have no general speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
(though about 47% of the total length is subject to local and/or conditional limits), but the advisory speed limit
Advisory speed limit
An advisory speed limit is a speed limit that is recommended by a governing body, but is not enforced. Advisory speed limits are often set in areas with many pedestrians, such as in city centres and outside schools, and on difficult stretches of roads, such as on tight corners or through roadworks...
Richtgeschwindigkeit) is 130 kilometres per hour (80.8 mph).
Great Britain
A map Shewing Future Pattern of Principal National Routes was issued by the Ministry of War Transport in 1946 shortly before the law that allowed roads to be restricted to specified classes of vehicle (the Special Roads Act 1949
Special Roads Act 1949
The Special Roads Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that:*Authorised the construction of special roads*Allowed these roads to be restricted to specific types of vehicles...
) was passed. The first section of motorway, the M6 Preston Bypass
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
, opened in 1958 followed by the first major section of motorway (the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
between Crick
Crick, Northamptonshire
Crick is a village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the border with Warwickshire, west of Rugby and north-west of Northampton. The villages of Crick and West Haddon were by-passed by the A428 main road from Rugby to Northampton when the...
and Berrygrove), which opened in 1959. From then onwards, motorways opened on a regular basis right into the 1980s; by 1972 the first 1000 miles (1,609 km) of motorway had been built.
Whilst roads outside of urban areas continued to be built throughout the 1970s, opposition to urban routes became more pronounced. Most notably, plans by the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
for a series of ringways
London Ringways
The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high speed...
were cancelled following extensive road protests and a rise in costs. In 1986 the compromised, single-ring, M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
was completed. In 1996 the total length of motorways reached 2000 miles (3,219 km).
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
make up more than 600 km (372.8 mi) of the Indian National Highway System on which they are the highest class of road. The National Highways Development Project
National Highways Development Project
The National Highways Development Project is a project to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen major highways in India to a higher standard. The project was implemented in 1998. "National Highways" account for only about 2% of the total length of roads, but carry about 40% of the total traffic across...
is underway to add an additional 18637 km (11,580.5 mi) of expressways to the network by the year 2022.
Northern Ireland
Legal authority existed in the Special Roads Act (Northern Ireland) 1963 similar to that in the 1949 Act. The first motorway to open was the M1 motorwayM1 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...
, though it did so under temporary powers until the Special Roads Act had been passed. Work on the motorways continued until the 1970s when the oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
and The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
both intervened causing the abandonment of many schemes.
Republic of Ireland
M50 motorway (Ireland)
The M50 motorway is a motorway in Ireland running in a C-shaped ring around the north-eastern, northern, western and southern sides of the capital city, Dublin. The northern end of the route is located at the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel. Anti-clockwise it heads northwest through the tunnel...
opened in 1990, a part of which was Ireland's first toll
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
motorway, the West-Link
West-Link
The West-Link is a toll bridge on the M50 motorway to the west of Dublin, Ireland, operated by BetEire Flow Limited for the National Roads Authority.- Structure :...
. However it would be the 1990s before substantial sections of motorway were opened in Ireland, with the first completed motorway – the 83 km (52 mi) M1 motorway – being finished in 2005.
Under the Transport 21
Transport 21
Transport 21 is an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. It aims to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time....
infrastructural plan, motorways or high quality dual carriageways were built between Dublin and the major cities of Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
and Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
by the end of 2010. Other shorter sections of motorway either have been or will be built on some other main routes. In 2007 legislation (the Roads Bill 2007) was created to allow existing roads be designated motorways by order because previously legislation allowed only for newly built roads to be designated motorways.
As a result, most HQDCs nationwide (other than some sections near Dublin on the N4 and N7, which did not fully meet motorway standards) were reclassified as motorways. The first stage in this process occurred when all the HQDC schemes open or under construction on the N7 and N8, and between Kinnegad
Kinnegad
Kinnegad or Kinagad is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is near the border with County Meath, at the junction of the N6 and the N4 - two of Ireland's main east-west roads...
and Athlone on the N6 and Kilcullen
Kilcullen
Kilcullen , formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. Its population of 2,985 makes it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growing in the county, having doubled in population from 1,483 in the census of 2002...
and south of Carlow
Carlow
Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...
on the N9, were reclassified motorway on 24 September 2008. Further sections of dual carriageway were reclassified in 2009.
As of December 2011, the Republic of Ireland has around 1,017 kilometres (632 mi) of motorways.
Italy
The first motorway ever built in the world was the Autostrada dei laghi, inaugurated on 21 September 1924 in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. It linked Milan to Varese
Varese
Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...
; it was then extended to Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
, near the border with Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, inaugurated on 28 June 1925. Piero Puricelli, the engineer who designed this new type of road, decided to cover the expenses by introducing a toll
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
.
Other motorways built before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
were Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
-Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
-Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
-Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
-Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Milan-Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
-Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
-Ostia
Ostia (quarter of Rome)
Ostia is a large neighbourhood in the XIII Municipio of the comune of Rome, Italy. Ostia is also the only municipio or district of Rome on the Tyrrhenian Sea and many Romans spend the summer holidays there. Sometimes it is confused with Ostia Antica, an archaeological area, that is nearby...
.
Type B highway (or strada extraurbana principale), commonly but unofficially known as superstrada, is a divided highway with at least two lanes for each direction, paved shoulder on the right, no cross-traffic and no at-grade intersections. Access restrictions on such highways are exactly the same of autostrade, as well as signage at the beginning and the end of the highway (with the only difference being the background color, blue instead of green).
Japan
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
at the northern part of Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
at the southern part of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, linking Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
as well. Additional expressways serve travellers in Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
and on Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...
, although those are not connected to the Honshū-Kyūshū-Shikoku grid. Expressways have a combined length of 8,730 km as of March 2005.
Korea
Expressways in South Korea were originally numbered in order of construction. Since August 24, 2001, they have been numbered in a scheme somewhat similar to that of the Interstate Highway System in the United States; the icons of the South Korean highways are similar to the US red, white and blue.- Arterial routes are designated by two-digit numbers, with north-south routes having odd numbers, and east-west routes having even numbers. Primary routes (i.e. major thoroughfares) have 5 or 0 as their last digit, while secondary routes end in other digits.
- Branch routes have three-digit route numbers, where the first two digits match the route number of an arterial route. This differs from the American system, whose last two digits match the primary route.
- Belt lines have three-digit route numbers where the first digit matches the respective city's postal code. This also differs from American numbering.
- Route numbers in the range 70-99 are not used in South Korea; they are reserved for designations in the event of Korean reunification.
- The Gyeongbu Expressway kept its Route 1 designation, as it is South Korea's first and most important expressway.
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
encompasses multilane divided freeways as well as narrower 2-4-lane undivided expressways
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
with varying degrees of grade separation
Grade separation
Grade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...
; the term Motorway describes the legal traffic restrictions rathjer than the type of road.
New Zealand's motorway network is small due to the nation's low population density and low traffic volumes making it uneconomical to build controlled-access highways outside the major urban centres.
New Zealand's first motorway opened in December 1950 near Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, running from Johnsonville to Tawa. This 5 km (3.1 mi) motorway now forms the southern part of the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway
Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway
The Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway is a motorway in Wellington, New Zealand. It forms part of State Highway 1, the main route of traffic in and out of the city....
and part of State Highway 1. Auckland's first stretch of motorway was opened in 1953 between Ellerslie and Mount Wellington (between present-day Exit 435 and Exit 438), and now forms part of the Southern Motorway
Auckland Southern Motorway
The Auckland Southern Motorway is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of State Highway 1....
.
Most major urban areas in New Zealand feature limited-access highways. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin contain motorways, with only Auckland having a substantial motorway network.
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
has a network of high-quality, international-standard limited access (or access-controlled) motorways, which are maintained and operated by the National Highway Authority
National Highway Authority
The National Highway Authority is responsible for building and maintaining highways and motorways in Pakistan. The objective of the NHA is to "plan, promote and organize programmes for construction, development, operation, repairs & maintenance of National Highways, Motorways & strategic roads."-...
. In August 2009, operational motorways in Pakistan had a combined length of 632 km (392.7 mi) with another 233 km (144.8 mi) under construction and further planned.
Pakistan's motorways are part of Pakistan's National Trade Corridor project that aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
ports of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Port Qasim
Port Qasim
The Port Muhammad Bin Qasim , also known as Port Qasim, is a seaport in Karachi, Pakistan, on the coastline of the Arabian Sea. It is Pakistan's second busiest port, handling about 35% of the nation's cargo...
and Gwadar
Gwadar
Gwadar also known as Godar is a developing port city on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan. It is the district headquarters of Gwadar District in Balochistan province and has a population of approximately 50,000.Gwadar is strategically located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the...
to the rest of the country and further on with Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Pakistan's first motorway, the M2
M2 motorway (Pakistan)
The M-2 is a motorway in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is 367 km long and connects Lahore with Islamabad. It passes through Kala Shah Kaku, Sheikhupura, Khanqah Dogran,Kot Sarwar, Pindi Bhattian, Salem, Lilla, Kot Momin, Kallar Kahar, Balksar, and Chakri before ending just outside the...
, was inaugurated in November 1997. The M2 is a 367 km (228 mi) long, six-lane motorway that links Pakistan's federal capital, Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, with Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
's provincial capital, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. Since the completion of the M2, two additional motorways have become operational. These are the 54 km (33.6 mi) four-lane (with capacity to increase to six lanes) M3 (Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
), which links the M2 to Faisalabad and the 154 km (95.7 mi) six-lane M1 (Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
-Islamabad). One additional motorway is currently under-construction, the 233 km (144.8 mi) four-lane (with capacity to increase to six lanes) M4 (Faisalabad-Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
).
Philippines
In the Philippines, there are six controlled-access highways, locally called tollway or expressway, all located on the island of LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
.
Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
are divided into motorways and expressways. As of November 2011, there are 926 kilometre of motorways (autostrady, singular - autostrada) and 718 kilometre of expressways
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
(drogi ekspresowe, singular - droga ekspresowa).
Expressways in Poland are limited-access road
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
s which can be dual
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
or single carriageway
Single carriageway
A single carriageway is a road with 1, 2 or more lanes arranged within a single carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. Two-lane road or two-lane highway are single carriageway with one lane for each direction...
s. As of January 20, 2011 there are 718 kilometre of expressways in Poland. There are about 570 kilometre of expressways in various stages of construction. The start of an expressway in Poland is marked with sign of white car on blue background, while number sign for an expressway is of red background and white letters, with the letter S preceding a number.
On May 15, 2004 the Regulation of the Council of Ministers (on the network of motorways and express roads) referred to a network of motorways and expressways in Poland totalling about 7200 kilometre (including about 2000 kilometre of motorways). Regulation from February 2007 added roads S2
Expressway S3 (Poland)
Expressway S3 or express road S3 is major road in Poland which is planned to run from Świnoujście on the Baltic Sea through Szczecin, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra and Legnica, to the border with the Czech Republic, where it will connect to the D11 motorway...
and S79
Expressway S79 (Poland)
Expressway S79 - is an Expressway in Warsaw connecting S2 with the Int. Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw.With a current length of 0 km the expressway is now all under construction together with a piece of S2. The works started in September 2009 and will be done till 9th April 2012.-External...
to the list. Regulation from October 2009 supplemented plans with road S61
Expressway S61 (Poland)
Expressway S61 or express road S61 is major planned road in Poland which is going to run from the Lithuanian A5 at the Polish-Lithuanian border near Budzisko to intersect express road S8 near Ostrów Mazowiecka. The expressway became part of the polish planned expressway network with the approval of...
. The following table summarizes the planned expressways in accordance with government regulations. Please note the lengths are approximate and are only indicative. As of end of January 2011 there are over 700 km (435 mi) of both single and dual-carriageway expressways in Poland. There are about 570 kilometre of expressways in various stages of construction.
South Africa
The following are forbidden from using a freeway:
- a vehicle drawn by an animal;
- a pedal cycle (such as a bicycle);
- a motor cycle having an engine with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 50 cm3 or that is propelled by electrical power;
- a motor tricycle or motor quadrucycle;
- pedestrians
Drivers may not use hand signals on a freeway (except in emergencies) and the minimum speed on a freeway is 60 km/h (37 mph). Drivers in the rightmost lane of multi-carriageway freeways must move to the left if a faster vehicle approaches from behind to overtake.
Despite popular opinion that "freeway" means a road with at least two lanes, single carriageway freeways exist, as is evidenced by the statement that "the roads include 1,400 km of dual carriageway freeway, 440 kilometres (273.4 mi) of single carriageway freeway and 5300 kilometres (3,293.3 mi) of single carriage main road with unlimited access."
The Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
translation of freeway is snelweg (literally fast road or expressway).
Spain
Thailand
The Thai motorway network is an intercity motorway network that spans 145 kilometres (90.1 mi). It is to be extended to over 4000 kilometres (2,485.5 mi) according to the master plan.Thailand's motorway network is considered to be separate from Thailand's expressway network, which is the system of usually elevated expressways within Greater Bangkok. Thailand also has a provincial highway network.
The Thai highway network spans over 70000 kilometres (43,496.1 mi) across all regions of Thailand. These highways, however, are often dual carriageways with frequent u-turn lanes and intersections slowing down traffic. Coupled with the increase in the number of vehicles and the demand for a limited-access motorway, the Thai Government issued a Cabinet resolution in 1997 detailing the motorway construction master plan. Some upgraded sections of highway are being turned into a "motorway", while other motorways are being purpose-built.
United States
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration of the United States Department of Transportation to specify the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used...
as a divided highway with full control of access.
This means two things. First, adjoining property owners do not have a legal right of access,
meaning that they cannot connect their lands to the highway by constructing driveways, although frontage road
Frontage road
A frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
s provide access to properties adjacent to a freeway in many places. When an existing road is converted into a freeway, all existing driveways must be removed and access to adjacent private lands must be blocked with fences or walls.
Second, traffic on a freeway is "free-flowing". All cross-traffic (and left-turning traffic) is relegated to overpasses or underpasses, so that there are no traffic conflicts on the main line of the highway which must be regulated by traffic lights, stop signs, or other traffic control devices. Achieving such free flow requires the construction of many overpasses, underpasses, and ramp systems. The advantage of grade-separated interchanges is that freeway drivers can almost always maintain their speed at junctions since they do not need to yield to vehicles crossing perpendicular to mainline traffic.
In contrast, an expressway
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
is defined as a divided highway with partial control of access.
Expressways may have driveways and at-grade intersections, though these are usually less numerous than on ordinary arterial roads.
This distinction was apparently first developed in 1949 by the Special Committee on Nomenclature of what is now the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States...
.
In turn, the definitions were incorporated into AASHTO's official standards book, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which would become the national standards book of the U.S. Department of Transportation under a 1966 federal statute. The same distinction has also been codified into the statutory law of eight states: California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
However, each state codified the federal distinction slightly differently. California expressways do not necessarily have to be divided, though they must have at least partial access control. For both terms to apply, in Wisconsin, a divided highway must be at least four lanes wide; and in Missouri, both terms apply only to divided highways at least 10 miles (16.1 km) long that are not part of the Interstate Highway System. In North Dakota and Mississippi, expressways may have "full or partial" access control and "generally" have grade separations at intersections; a freeway is then defined as an expressway with full access control. Ohio's statute is similar, but instead of the vague word generally, it imposes a requirement that 50% of an expressway's intersections must be grade-separated for the term to apply.
Only Minnesota enacted the exact MUTCD definitions, in May 2008.
The term expressway is also used for what the federal government calls "freeways"; Where the terms are distinguished, freeways can be characterized as expressways upgraded to full access control, while not all expressways are freeways.
Examples in the United States of roads which are technically expressways (under the federal definition), but contain the word "freeway" in their names: State Fair Freeway
K-96 (Kansas highway)
K-96 is a state highway in central and southern Kansas. Its western terminus is at the Colorado state line east of Towner, Colorado, where it continues as Colorado State Highway 96; its eastern terminus since 1999 is at U.S. Route 54/U.S. Route 400 east of Wichita.The eastern terminus was once at...
in Kansas, Chino Valley Freeway, Rockaway Freeway
Rockaway Freeway
The Rockaway Freeway is a road in the New York City borough of Queens, that was created from the old right-of-way of the Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Division in 1941–1942 as part of the project to eliminate grade crossings within New York City...
in New York, and Shenango Valley Freeway (a portion of U.S. Route 62
U.S. Route 62
U.S. Route 62 runs from the US-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas to Niagara Falls, New York, near the United States-Canada border. It is the only east-west US Route that connects Mexico and Canada.Parts of U.S...
) in Pennsylvania.
Unlike some countries not all freeways are part of a national network. In the U.S, freeways may be built and maintained by any level of government so some freeways such as California 99 and parts of US 127 in Michigan carry state highway and U.S Highway designations.
See also
- List of controlled access highway systems
- List of OECD countries by road network size